The Healing of Future Visions Following Loss

The best way to control the future is to create it

The holidays and new year are often painted as the most festive time of the year. Yet for many, this season quietly presses salt into open wounds of those cradling broken hearts, uncertain futures, lost relationships, and the deep ache of grief and loss. Blinded by pain and insecurities while healing from trauma, this season can feel especially heavy blinded by hurt and unknowns. It becomes tempting to get stuck in the memories of one’s past versus focusing on a future vision that rewards hard-earned wisdom gained from that long, perpetual journey. I know this struggle well but promise you that the revelation of hope and a new future arises through the struggle.

I vividly recall my first Christmas as a divorced single mother—searching for hope after heartbreak while carrying far more questions than answers. I wrestled with God, wondering why He had allowed our family’s life to unravel so completely. My circumstances progressed from bad to excruciating. Why me? What had I done to deserve this?

After a year marked by lost income, legalities, and frightening events that threatened our family’s safety, December finally brought the conclusion of our divorce as my husband spiraled closer toward his eventual imprisonment. While relieved, I continued to suffer from profound emotional bruising as I painfully tried to rebuild our lives. Then physical hardship joined the storm as I fell in the attic, leaving me handicapped from a broken foot. I could no longer make my bed much less decorate a Christmas tree for my children.

Each day, I arrived at my retail survival job on crutches, hobbling through long hours as I awaited customers. The depth of my emotional pain during that first holiday season was immeasurable. Yet even then, my greatest priority was restoring hope and joy for my children whose father was suddenly gone from their lives. I was learning—slowly and imperfectly—what it meant to trust God when life falls apart unexpectedly.

I felt so alone and helpless, my spirit exhausted as I battled survival on the floor of rock bottom. I desperately craved relief, and wallowing in grief and despair became preferable to fighting each day so insufferably. But somewhere deep within, I knew I could not surrender my will to fight. Healing from emotional pain would require more than survival—it would require a vision of where I wanted to land at the end of suffering’s journey.

And in ways I could not see just yet, God faithfully honored each small intention as I resisted defeat from continual hardships. Slowly, He unveiled an inner strength and began guiding me toward healing—one step at a time—into a future I could not yet crystalize while blurred by the insecurities of so many unknowns.

Tomorrow as we begin a new year that offers promise and new opportunities, I share this not to reopen wounds, but to offer encouragement when rebuilding after loss, betrayal, or trauma. Your next year can be your year, and each one thereafter! Dream and visualize it! Design a future that can become real if you create it and believe it.

I have learned from past personal lows that healing does not come from looking backwards but from intentionally creating a future vision. While former strongholds still whisper in the background, I extend optimism, anticipation, and hope—trusting that God restores what pain once tried to steal.

If you cannot yet see the vision of your new path, trust the Father who loves you and promises restoration. He is the One who makes roads in the wilderness and creates rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19.) Will you choose to trust—even when you cannot yet see the path forward?

If life has interrupted your story and you’re struggling to see what comes next, this gentle journal was created for you. Healing With New Visions will guide you to release the past, reconnect with hope, and begin shaping a future rooted in faith—not fear as you design your new destination.

BEGIN YOUR HEALING VISION

Verse of Reflection

Don't be afraid for I am with you. Don't be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

-Isaiah 41:10-